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Websleuths News

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Teresa Heinz Kerry describes "miraculous" recovery

Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of our current Secretary of State, John Kerry, made her first public appearance after suffering a seizure this past summer. From a Pittsburgh PostGazette interview:

"It's hard to imagine that just less than four months ago, on July 7, after suffering a seizure at her family home on Nantucket, Mrs. Kerry was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where she was in intensive care for a few days before moving to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for a nearly three-week stay."

"The cause of her seizure, she said, wasn't related to her 2009 treatment for breast cancer, but rather the lingering effects "after a bad concussion that was not properly treated at all ... from a very bad fall," four years ago.

According to medical research, such seizures might not appear for as long as 20 years after an accident. The brain's repair process -- the forming of new connections and circuits -- may take years, and while strength and memory return, sometimes the circuits formed can be overly excited and lead to seizures.

But her doctors don't know for sure."

"I guess the way these things get resolved is that [the concussion's injuries] probably get absorbed by the brain, scar tissue, too, and in my case I don't know how long it took to be absorbed," she said. "But there were a lot of signs of impacts over the four years, and probably the last absorption, I think, was about the time I had my seizure. I don't know if I lost all of it in six months, in two years, or all in one week. We don't know."

When Mrs. Kerry was moved to Spaulding to begin her long climb back to wellness, "It was hard." She had no balance, and it was hard to mentally focus. Today, she goes three times a week for physical therapy, in Washington or Boston, and exercises to sharpen her brain's acuity. She says the doctors have told her she's made a "miraculous" recovery."

It has been quite some time since I've studied seizure disorder or concussions. I know there are folks on this board whose education is much more current than mine.

After reading this entire article, it sounded to me like she was more describing a brain bleed than a seizure. Anyone else have any input on this?

I've always liked the outspoken Teresa and am glad she is doing so well!